Quik.io Launches To Enable Users To Access Their Media Files Across Multiple Devices

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Laptops and iPads and iPhones, oh my! With the increase in the number of devices that the typical user carries around today, there’s also an increase in the number of places where they store their digital media. Startup Quik.io hopes to make it easier for users to access all their digital files, regardless of the device that they’re on.

Quik.io works like this: Through an app, users are able to easily synchronize content across devices, enabling them to wirelessly move their photos and other media files to PCs or Macs. Once stored there, the application automatically converts files into useable formats that can be accessed on other devices. That media can be stored on tablet devices like the iPad for access offline, and it can be sent to family and friends.

The startup was founded by serial entrepreneur and Cisco alum Michael Chen after being frustrated by an inability to get all of his content in one place and easily share it with friends. And so he created a way to organize and access and share those files no matter where he was. He recruited fellow Cisco alums Xumin Wu and Budi Sutardja to join him to make the app a reality.

With Quik.io, the team hopes to make it easier for users to automatically synchronize content between the iPad and PC, rather than using cloud services like Dropbox or Google Drive to store and access that content. The advantage to doing so is that it can ensure file formats are correct for streaming over the Internet. The startup has an iPad app now, but is also working on iPhone and Android apps, which should be coming soon.

But the one problem with storing content in the Quik.io fashion is that to access it from a mobile device when away from home, the “source” PC or Mac has to be on and connected to the Internet. This might not be a problem for users with always-on desktop PCs… But the days of the home server are numbered, as mobility and cloud storage mean users are getting used to being able to access their content without having to reach a PC. As a result, Quik.io will be competing more and more with services like Picturelife, which do the same thing, but in the cloud.

Mountain View, Calif.-based Quik.io has raised $1.28 million in seed funding from Singapore- and Taipei-based investment firm Enspire Capital, as well as other angels. Advisors include serial entrepreneur and Cisco fellow Wen Chen, as well as Plantronics CTO Joe Burton.